The illustrative embodiments described in the present application are useful in systems including those for providing funds accounting devices and more particularly are useful in systems including those for providing for accounting of postage and evidence of postage.
Funds accounting, storing and dispensing systems are potential targets for fraud because they store funds. Certain funds systems are regulated and are typically required to exhibit some level of security capability to prevent or dissuade fraudulent activity. Such systems may also provide some forensic evidence to assist in tracking any fraud that is perpetuated.
For example, postage meters approved by the United States Postal Service (USPS) must exhibit certain security capabilities in order to be approved for use. Many postage meters in the United States provide funds accounting such that a source of funds is debited when postage is prepaid before being placed into the mail stream. Additionally, many postage meters provide proof of the postage payment in the form of printed indicia placed on the mail piece, typically on the upper right hand corner of an envelope. In a postage system that utilizes prepaid funds such as the USPS, a postage meter may account for funds by providing an ascending register to track money spent, a descending register to keep track of available funds and a piece count register to track total number of mail pieces franked. Certain other postal systems utilize post-paid postage wherein a postage meter may incorporate credit accounting features.
Mailing machines including postage meters are commercially available from Pitney Bowes Inc. of Stamford, Conn.
Delivery services typically utilize an infrastructure for collecting, aggregating, transporting, sorting and delivering items. For example, the United States Postal Service (USPS) delivers more than 200 billion pieces of mail a year. The USPS serves about seven million customers daily at approximately 38,000 postal retail outlets and collects mail from more than 326,000 street mail collection boxes. It leases over 26,000 facilities and operates a transport and delivery fleet of about 215,530 vehicles. The USPS utilizes approximately 75,000 pieces of mail processing equipment and over 300 processing plants to sort and ship the mail.